1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the tilt-pan head for a camera or other instrument wherein it is required to rotate the instrument about a vertical axis and to tilt it up and down about a horizontal axis. It is very desirable that the frictional drag of both tilt and the panning motion be capable of being carefully regulated and that the same friction or "feel" may be maintained even when the camera or other instrument is intermittently locked in its panning motion or both panning and tilting motion together. It is particularly applicable to utilization with commercial television cameras in which the precise control of such motions is especially critical.
Also, it is highly desirable that the control of the tilt and panning frictional drag as well as the control of the locking of both the tilt and panning motion be readily controllable by the camera operator by a simplified motion and without having to visually reference the control instrumentality.
In addition, it is highly desirable that such a mechanism be relatively maintenance-free and constructed of durable materials.
2. PRIOR ART
There does not exist at the present time, as far as applicant knows, any tilt-pan head mechanism wherein the tilt drag, the pan drag and the locking of the tilt and pan motion may be controlled by simple turning motions of four stacked rings by the operator.
Most existing tilt-pan head arrangements require varied movements to effectuate the controls and in most cases the pan friction and the tilt friction are used both to regulate the motion as well as lock or completely inhibit motion. Representative existing tilt-pan systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,420,238, 4,247,069, 4,457,610, 4,010,923 and 3,352,521. None of these prior art references of which Applicant is aware disclose or suggest the pan and tilt control for cameras of the present invention.